TheBeatles
Well-Known Member
I agree with the OP, this month has been unusually busy.
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Record crowds this month?
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that October and November are getting more crowded by the year. This used to be a great time to visit but Disney keeps tossing in more events to draw people during this time.
First they expanded the Halloween party dates, then the Christmas parties. There's also the Children's Miracle Network Golf Classic, the Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon, etc.
Also, and this is just a trend I have observed, if you go in the fall and can stand to not go to Magic Kingdom on a day where they are doing fireworks or night parade, do it.
Most guests that can be flexible with their days to visit will see Magic Kingdom closes at 7 p.m. and has no night offerings, and seem to think it's not worthwhile to go and either choose a different day to visit (if that's the only park they want to see) or just visit a different park that day if they're there for multiple days, which causes a lot of crowding at the other parks.
This time of year, if there's been a string of bad weather days, or party days, or a mix of both, the next day that has good weather and no party, the Magic Kingdom gets absolutely slammed.
So...moral of the story? If you want to go this time of year, do Magic Kingdom on party nights (but don't go to the party), and do the other parks on non-party nights when everyone else is at Magic Kingdom.
Epcot is also not the place to be on a party night during a party, because that's where a lot of the guests that leave Magic Kingdom early on those days migrate to.
BoardwalkGlenn
Well-Known Member
I just got back from the World and it was definitely more busy than I expected.
I've never seen the MK as bad as it was Saturday night during Wishes.
I've never seen the MK as bad as it was Saturday night during Wishes.
Maryssa*
Well-Known Member
EPCOT this past saturday night was really really crowded, I had to wait in a line at every food kiosk I wanted to sample from, though they generally moved pretty fast. But there was hardly any room to really move around the walkways in World Showcase (except for open chunks like Japan).
bugsbunny
Well-Known Member
I'm at DHS right now waiting for Fantasmic. Stadium is probably only 1/3 full. Reserved seating isn't even half full. Toy Story only had 30 minute wait. Never saw that before. ToT was walk on and off at noon.
I will agree that MK and Epcot were packed over the weekend. But during the week, it's been pretty empty. Going to Epcot tomorrow for f & w and will see if it holds true that the crowds are completely different than weekend levels. Me and my wife were actually just saying how empty the parks have been this week just before I read this post!
I will agree that MK and Epcot were packed over the weekend. But during the week, it's been pretty empty. Going to Epcot tomorrow for f & w and will see if it holds true that the crowds are completely different than weekend levels. Me and my wife were actually just saying how empty the parks have been this week just before I read this post!
I second your statement - I just got back on Tuesday, and Saturday night at MK (I got there about 8:30p) was about as bad as I've ever seen it. I chalked it up to several things:
1. People watching the MSEP at 8pm
2. People watching the Castle show at 8:30pm (?)
3. People wanting to watch Wishes! at 9pm
4. Horrid, utterly abysmal crowd management by Disney
Feel free to re-arrange those as you see fit.
But seriously - you HAD to turn left or right at Casey's Corner. You could NOT continue up towards the Castle. So, you have people moving up MSUSA, people coming towards MSUSA from the Castle, people coming towards MSUSA from Tomorrowland, and people coming towards MSUSA from Adventureland. Disney has to do something about this, there's no excuse to have literal gridlock at the end of MSUSA 15 minutes prior to Wishes!.
We were there from 10/25 to 11/1. World Showcase was it's usual miserable place to be during the F&W Festival virtually from the time it opened until 9pm, while FW was very un-crowded. DHS was very manageable, as was MK (except for Saturday night, and after 6pm any night there was a MNSSHP) and AK.
bugsbunny
Well-Known Member
I'm at Epcot now. No waits for anything. Walk right up to every kiosk at each country with no lines. What a difference coming during the week makes.
And yes you do see people visibly drink during the weekend. It's the locals coming out with their friends for a good time. People need to remember that this isn't holy land and adults do like to have a good time with their friends. But like any bar, the rowdy ones do get thrown out.
And yes you do see people visibly drink during the weekend. It's the locals coming out with their friends for a good time. People need to remember that this isn't holy land and adults do like to have a good time with their friends. But like any bar, the rowdy ones do get thrown out.
Speaking of which... Has anyone else noticed how the sizes of the beers you can order has increased from the 4-6oz samples to where now you can order a 22oz beer (for the low price of $11.50)? Disney is now catering to the locals/alcoholics with deep pockets rather than making the F&W Festival about food and wine. From what I saw last week, the food is now an afterthought to the alcohol.
I agree - they aren't concerned about anything but making truckloads of cash.
I was there during the weekend of the 15-16th. It was crowded, plenty of locals, but I didn't have any issues or see any gross amounts of alcohol-fueled stupidity, past that of the various college football fans and their various chants or the like....
PhilharMagician
Well-Known Member
They have been serving 22oz beer for many years. It has been in the souvenier mug. This is not new. The 22oz is served year round in many locations.
I second your statement - I just got back on Tuesday, and Saturday night at MK (I got there about 8:30p) was about as bad as I've ever seen it. I chalked it up to several things:
1. People watching the MSEP at 8pm
2. People watching the Castle show at 8:30pm (?)
3. People wanting to watch Wishes! at 9pm
4. Horrid, utterly abysmal crowd management by Disney
Feel free to re-arrange those as you see fit.
But seriously - you HAD to turn left or right at Casey's Corner. You could NOT continue up towards the Castle. So, you have people moving up MSUSA, people coming towards MSUSA from the Castle, people coming towards MSUSA from Tomorrowland, and people coming towards MSUSA from Adventureland. Disney has to do something about this, there's no excuse to have literal gridlock at the end of MSUSA 15 minutes prior to Wishes!.
We were there from 10/25 to 11/1. World Showcase was it's usual miserable place to be during the F&W Festival virtually from the time it opened until 9pm, while FW was very un-crowded. DHS was very manageable, as was MK (except for Saturday night, and after 6pm any night there was a MNSSHP) and AK.
At this point in the day with heavy crowds you typically see that they open up the backstage to transport people around MSUSA on the East side. THis helps a lot with the gridlock. CM's are usually waving lights directing people towards the doors, but most do not realize that a quicker passage is available.
BoardwalkGlenn
Well-Known Member
Yep they had the additional path behind Main Street open and trying to guide people down it toward the exit. I just stood by the Plaza and didn't (couldn't) move so I could continue to enjoy the MK and see the late show of MM&Y. It was fun to watch a stand-off between a stroller and a ECV. :hammer:
PhilharMagician
Well-Known Member
We were there on the 22nd and luckily booked the dessert party on the Tomorrowland Terrace. We did not arrive at MK untill about 8:00 PM and it was insane. We got to the terrace and stayed there and watched the mess in the hub with the MSEP followed by Wishes, it was a disaster. We waited at the terrace until some of the park emptied. I honestly think Epcot was worse than MK
NORMNB8S
Member
I guess it's all in how you interpret things. I was there from the 21st through the 30th and while it was busier than Octobers generally are, I personally would not use the term "crazy" to describe our trip. We did MNSSHP on Sunday the 23rd and while the trick or treat lines and the M&G lines were long, we never waited more than 10 minutes for any attraction. We hit both Epcot and MK on Monday and Tuesday and while we did comment that there seemed to be more people in WS than usual, we didn't feel that it was too terrible, and as someone else previously mentioned, those folks didn't seem to be partaking in attractions as much as they were partaking in food and alcohol. With the exception of TSMM (but that's pretty common), DHS was not terrible either and AK on Friday was very nice but it was somewhat rainy so that probably played a role in that. I would say that the only day that we were amazed at the number of people was Saturday the 29th. We spent our last day hopping from DHS to Epcot to MK and it was pretty busy that day. However, we chalked that up to it being a weekend day which is typically going to be busier. Overall, TSMM and Soarin' were the only attractions that had crazy queues but that is pretty common in my experience. Honestly, we found ourselves not wanting to wait 30 minutes for an attraction because we had been doing 15 or less for so many other attractions during our stay.
COProgressFan
Well-Known Member
The backstage exit does help. However, it is no easy feat to get to that exit. If you are on the west side of main street or the hub it is just about impossible. It really is only easily accessible for those coming from Tomorrowland.
I have seen the gridlock situation in peak and off seasons as well, and it is terrible. I don't know how many PAC/crowd control CM's they are sending out but it is clearly not enough. The situation often becomes outright dangerous. People start to panic, and as horrible as it is to think about, the potential for trampling/stampeding is certainly possible in an emergency situation. I shudder to think about, but I could see that happening one day.
Just an aside, at Disneyland, being so small the traffic in the hub is also awful after fireworks. However, there seem to be an endless supply of crowd control CM's keeping the crowd flowing in the hub and on the way to FL for Fantasmic. Crowds move one way around the hub, and the whole situation just seems less chaotic than it does at the MK.
PhilharMagician
Well-Known Member
The problem at WDW is the crowd control CM's are signaling for people to go out the backstage exit and the guests are like deer in headlights, very confused and refuse to listen. I have stood there many night leaving (waiting for the wife to come out of the restroom) and watch people walk right past the exit and turn at MSUSA to head out? :brick:
I watched a CM at AK last week from a bench outside Flame Tree trying to stop guests coming out of Dinoland and exiting the park and she was literally being walked all over. The parade was about to start and they closed off the walkway around Discovery Island. Her job was to direct guests trying to exit through the gift shop. She would tell the guests that it was a clear path out through the gift shop and they would ignore her and go straight anyway. No matter waht she said to the guests, almost nobody listened and some told her off in very unkind ways.
You want crowd control give the CM's a bat to knock some sense into the argumentative guests.
COProgressFan
Well-Known Member
Oh, believe me I know guests can be brutal. And during crowded times I've seen many arguments break out over people trying to get through the throngs of people with double wide strollers and ECV's. I just think that in many instances Disney could do more to address these dangerous situations.
IRBIWDW
Member
We were there a couple of weeks ago and although it was crowded, it didn't seem crazy. Except World Showcase. That was a complete nightmare. I'm all for having a few drinks and some fun w/ friends and family, but most of the people I saw were falling down drunk. Very unruly crowd. Even the CMs commented on that. There was trash everywhere except the garbage cans. WS didn't even have a Disney feel to it. But, when we walked back to Future World, it was all happy magic again. Still had fun though. :wave:
Still had fun though. :wave:
PhilharMagician
Well-Known Member
We were there a couple of weeks ago and although it was crowded, it didn't seem crazy. Except World Showcase. That was a complete nightmare. I'm all for having a few drinks and some fun w/ friends and family, but most of the people I saw were falling down drunk. Very unruly crowd. Even the CMs commented on that. There was trash everywhere except the garbage cans. WS didn't even have a Disney feel to it. But, when we walked back to Future World, it was all happy magic again.
I agree, but it all starts with the guest. I just love it when you have a park with 25000+ people trying to exit behind you a family/group of 15 people stop and block 1/2 of MSUSA to ask about what time they want to get up tomorrow. They cannot even try to move to the side of bunch together and stop they seem to spread out and block as much space as possible. That stops all movement.
I watched a woman back over a guys foot with a ECV and proceeded to almost put him on the ground. She then yelled at him and then pulled into the Yak and Yetti shop and took out a display when going backwards again without looking and started yelling at the CM. I just stood back and :lol:
The best entertainment @ WDW is people.